Plundering & Pollution Conference: Niobium mining in Oka

Speech by Ellen Gabriel

Niobium mining is taking place in Kanehsatake, near the recent field exploited by the St-Lawrence Colombium.

Niobium is a rare ore, more and more sought, which is used in many high technology products. Its extraction requires excessive water use, threatening the ground water, essential to the agriculture, and leading to radioactive waste. The land the company wants to exploit in Oka is revendicated by the Mohawks of Kanehsatake. Since the early 2000s they rejected this project, along with the citizens of Oka to this day.